Routes
They are still there, the utopian sanctuaries on the edge of the city where artists and craftsmen are freely shaping their dreams: together and with each other for 35 years. That is becoming an increasingly difficult story, however, as the ideals of the generation that would do everything differently are in danger of becoming somewhat isolated. How does the Nieuw en Meer artists' enclave provide new growth? And how do you actually interact in an anarchist bubble, without too many agreements and regulations, but with a lot of meetings. As a 'fly on the wall', Agnes de Ruijter made a portrait from within.
“Agnes de Ruijter's documentary celebrating 35 years of Nieuw en Meer has become an extraordinary film about a site on the outskirts of Amsterdam with a hundred studios used by artists and companies affiliated with art. It pictures what is happening in a number of studios. Artists talk about their relationship and experiences with the Nieuw en Meer complex. The many festivals and exhibitions that are regularly organized on and around the site are also featured. But above all, the documentary beautifully shows how the former military warehouse, from the moment it was squatted and then legalized, grows into the community it is today. From the somewhat raw “squatter anarchism”, it has evolved into an organization where self-developed democracy is of paramount importance.
Things always don't go off without a hitch, it involves a lot of talk and discussion, but in the end, the Nieuw en Meerders manage to find forms that work. This film is not only about the 35th anniversary of Nieuw en Meer, but also about a social project. A project in which a large number of free-spirited minds must organize themselves to ensure their existence and work on the peninsula while also maintaining the sense of their own identity. To do this, democracy on the ground must take its own shape and, as it were, be reinvented. Now, after 35 years, this community's idiosyncratic and autonomous approach can be an example for other similar arts organizations. This film will certainly help convey that message.”
-- Hans Scholten